An imaging apparatus, such as an ink jet printer, forms an image on a print medium, such as paper, by applying ink to the print medium. The ink may be contained in one or more replaceable supply cartridges. Examples of such replaceable supply cartridges include a replaceable ink tank and an ink jet printhead cartridge. An ink jet printhead cartridge, for example, includes both an ink tank and a printhead having an ink jet micro-fluid ejection device. One known method of manufacturing a printhead cartridge is to use a three piece mold.
In contrast to the ink jet printhead cartridge, a replaceable ink tank does not include the micro-fluid ejection device. For example, one type of ink jet printer includes an on-carrier ink tank system that mounts a plurality of ink tanks, with each ink tank containing a supply of a particular color of ink, e.g., black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, to a printhead assembly separately mounted to the printhead carrier. In this case, the micro-fluid ejection device forms part of a printhead assembly and is not permanently attached to the ink tank. In an on-carrier ink tank system, the ink is transferred from the ink tank to the micro-fluid ejection device through as series of fluid interfaces, e.g., a felt ink retaining member located in the ink tank and a wick located on the printhead assembly.